Bond fans brush up on hero's creator

Bradlee Roberts, 11, from Herne Bay with his favourite James Bond, Daniel Craig

Young fans minded their Ms and Qs at a two-day celebration of James Bond and his creator Ian Fleming.

They made disguises, decoded messages and got their hands on gadgets at the Museum of Canterbury in Stour Street.

Local Bond enthusiast Gary Hart showcased memorabilia including gambling chips used in the most recent film Casino Royale.

The event coincided with the 100th anniversary of Fleming’s birth and came 50 years after the publishing of the first Bond story, Dr No.

Martin Crowther, from the museum, said: “The youngsters really showed the experts a thing of two.

“They were very clued up on the later films and were able to learn more about the older ones and about Ian Fleming’s life and work.

“The character still captures the imagination of young people as much as ever.”

Fleming wrote many Bond tales while living in St Margaret’s Bay, near Dover. Goldfinger makes reference to Bond driving along the Canterbury Road to Faversham on his way to a game of golf with the villain at the author’s beloved Royal St George’s club in Sandwich.

The author stayed at the Duck Inn, Pett Bottom, while writing You Only Live Twice and a bench at the pub commemorates this.

The exhibition went back to Elizabethan times with stories of Canterbury-born dramatist and spy Christopher Marlowe.